


After-Hours Chat

by EmaniaHilel



Series: After-Hours [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Marinette's Birthday Episode, Romantic Comedy, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 05:58:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12834774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmaniaHilel/pseuds/EmaniaHilel
Summary: Marinette is catching up on some reading late at night when she receives a surprising text.Takes place the night after Marinette's Birthday in Season 2x04.





	After-Hours Chat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Guardian_Kysra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_Kysra/gifts).



> Yes, this is my first fic for this fandom, and I blame it entirely on Guardian_Kysra. She’d been telling me to watch this show for MONTHS and when I finally started to watch it, I became very quickly obsessed with this pairing. I wrote this fic and then started reading fic in the fandom and realized that this idea I had thought was so clever has been done before, so I hope you guys forgive the unoriginality of the idea and enjoy the different approach.
> 
> Any and all constructive critique is always welcome!
> 
> p.s. I am ALMOST certain that I'm going to write a companion piece to this one, from Adrien's point of view. If this one is well received, anyway. :)

**_After-Hours Chat  
by Em_ ** __

__

_“Life is something that happens when you can't get to sleep.”_  
\- Fran Lebowitz

Marinette was hungrily devouring the words on the page before her, completely enmeshed in the moment that Jake finally realized what his precise peculiarity was when a quick thrum of vibration made her start and yelp in surprise, dropping the book.

Thankfully, it wasn’t a particularly loud yelp (such as would likely wake her parents downstairs) but it was loud enough to bring Tikki flying out of her little hidey-hole to zoom to Marinette’s side. 

“Marinette!” the Kwami asked in breathless surprise. “What is it?” 

Marinette felt the zing of vibration through the mattress beneath her and huffed out a laugh. “Nothing, Tikki, just my phone,” she chuckled, realization dawning. “I must’ve gotten a text.” 

“At this hour?” Tikki questioned. 

Marinette’s amusement faded as she glanced at her bedside clock and realized that three a.m. was no time to be getting a text. 

Worry creasing her brow, she began pawing through her voluminous covers, quilts and sheets for the elusive phone that she knew was in there somewhere. 

“Ah, found it,” she breathed as she felt the device near her ankle. She twisted to grab it, pushing aside quilt and blankets until she could discover the not quite fashionable but perfectly respectable smart phone hiding there. 

She pulled it out, unlocked the screen and opened her messaging application, scanning the entries for the newest one her anxiety growing with each delay, no matter how minimal, to her finding out who was texting her and why they were doing it at this hour.

Perhaps it was the growing sense of urgency she’d been feeling to make sure whether there was anything wrong, or perhaps she would’ve acted in the same exact manner had she received the text in the middle of an ordinary afternoon. Still, whatever the reason, as soon as she saw the name on the screen identifying her one unread text, her fingers became nerveless and she quite promptly dropped the phone with a barely audible squeak. 

Tikki’s quick thinking was the only thing that saved the device from an untimely collision with Marinette’s hard wood floors. “Marinette!” the Kwami chastised, holding the phone away from the edge of the bed with some effort, struggling a bit to nudge it back onto a safe spot away from edges on Marinette’s bed. 

“It’s me!” Marinate blurted. “I mean, text him me,” flustered now, as well as surprised, she shook her head, “I mean, it’s him!” she finally managed to make a coherent sentence. 

Tikki sighed, knowing of course, that only one person could make Marinette this agitated. “So, why did you drop the phone?” she asked. 

“I can’t!” Marinette whispered fiercely. “It’s Adrien!”

Tikki edged the phone closer to Marinette who scooted back on the covers away from the softly glowing device not unlike a demented crab, until with a soft thump, her back made contact with the headboard, her head ricochetting smartly off the wall. 

“Ouch!” Marinette hissed, frowning and running a hand along the back of her head, fingers probing for soreness and bumps, wincing as she found the spot her skull connected with the wall, then soothing the spot all while watching the phone as if it were alive and would bite her. 

“Well, don’t you want to _know_ what he wants?” Tikki asked, using her little Kwami hand to unlock the screen that had since gone back to dormant. 

Marinette shook her head sharply, a quick jerk in the negative. “You look,” she prodded.

Tikki sighed, but peered down at the brightly lit screen regardless. “He said, ‘Hi Marinette, it’s Adrien. Are you up?” Tikki read. 

Marinette whimpered and Tikki shook her head, flying low close to the phone and hopping from space to space in order to type out a message. She hit send before the girl could react.

“Tikki!” Marinette exclaimed with hushed urgency. “What are you doing?” 

“If you don’t respond, he’ll think you’re asleep and you’ll never find out what he wanted,” Tikki said reasonably. She looked up and offered Marinette a bright smile. “So, I just told him you were up.”

Marinette was still looking at Tikki in something of awed surprise when the phone vibrated and the screen flashed with the incoming message. Without prompting this time, Tikki read the message aloud. “He says, ‘Did I wake you?’” Without much hesitation this time, Tikki typed out another message and hit send. 

“What’d you say?” Marinette asked, leaning closer to where the miniature goddess was hovering over the telephone. 

Tikki looked amused. “I said ‘No,’” Tikki replied. 

When the screen flashed again, Marinette dove across her bed to grab it, before Tikki could respond again. 

_> Can’t sleep?<_

Marinette stared at the message in absolutely stunned awe.

“Well?” Tikki prodded. “What are you waiting for!?” 

“I can’t, Tikki,” Marinette said, feeling something like shaking resonating from inside — the same kind of shaking she only ever felt when she was near him. 

“Listen, Marinette,” Tikki said, flying up to be eye level with the girl. “This is a perfect chance to talk to him without being afraid of stumbling over your words or anything,” she pointed out. “You can just take a minute to compose what you’re going to say and make sure you actually say what you mean.”

Tikki was right, of course, and Marinette knew it. This was a perfect opportunity!

_> No_

Marinette shook her head and deleted the simple, albeit truthful, answer. She hadn’t been able to sleep, but it wasn’t the way his question had implied.

_> Don’t want to yet.<_

She watched the screen for a few moments and was finally rewarded by his response popping up. 

_> You ok?< _

Marinette cocked her head at the screen, wondering why he would ask such a thing. It didn’t take her long to figure it out, however. When she realized he must be asking if she was still awake because of any problems, her insides went gooey. When she finally got herself together enough to even remember she should respond to his question, she was grinning like an idiot. 

_> You’re so sweet for asking and I think you would make an amazing father because you’re so kind and I love you and —_

She stopped herself with a horrifying realization. She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned low in her throat in mortification, bringing her phone up to smack against her forehead once, twice…

She stopped on the third, suddenly panicking that she might’ve accidentally hit send by her theatrical antics. She exhaled in relief when she realized the message was still in draft form. She purposefully hit the delete key, deleting the entire message, letting her finger depress the delete key a few times even though the cursor was hitting only the beginning of the message space…just in case. 

Satisfied that no ghost or remnant of that ridiculously stupid message had escaped her purge, she took a deep breath and tried again. 

_> I’m good.<_

The message screen was still for another few moments, within which Marinette was reminded how _bad_ she was at waiting for things and that she really should go back to practicing mindful meditation for patience like her mother’s uncle the retired monk had tried to teach her that one time he came to visit. 

_> So, you’re still up at 3 am just because?<_

She may not have had an _actual_ full on, multi-syllabic, non-klutz prone conversation with Adrien Agreste since he lent her his umbrella back when, but she was very perceptive and it thrilled her no end that she could read the implied raised eyebrow into the simple question.

She giggled, pleased beyond belief that she was experiencing what she had seen him use with Nino and some of the other kids at school before first hand. 

_> Not just because…  
I was actually at a really good part in a new book<_

She could feel the blush rising to her cheeks, but was happy to note that it really _was_ easier to have a normal conversation with him over text. 

_> Oh? What book?<_

She realized suddenly why texting with Adrien seemed so different than with her other friends…he was actually using proper grammar and wasn’t resorting to text speak. It was a pet peeve of hers when people used one letter shorthands for commonly used words in texts or emails, but since it was so common, she couldn’t really fault them. The fact Adrien didn’t use them added another mark on the ‘why Adrien Agreste is freakin amazing’ column. 

The realization of the fact that he was, objectively, making conversation with her came secondary and for a moment, her mind had shut down and at a complete blank as to which book of the ones her parents had given her for her birthday had been so enthralling she hadn’t been able to put it down into the three am mark. It came to her eventually.

_> ”Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” by Ransom Riggs. It’s really very good if you like fantasy/adventure type books.<_

His reply came almost immediately.

_> Well, I’m glad<_

Marinette cocked her head a bit to the side. 

_> Glad that the book is good?< _

It took a few moments for his reply to appear.

_> No.<_

She raised her brows at his response, but before she could question it, he wrote again.

_> I mean, yes, I’m glad the book is interesting (maybe I can borrow it when you’re done?), but I’m just…  
Well, with all the excitement today, I just wanted to check in and make sure you were ok.<_

Marinette sighed at the warmth that filled her with his simple sentiment. 

She smiled and before she knew it, her fingers were typing of their own accord. 

_> Thank you. :) I’m really ok.<_

For a few moments, she watched the three little dots on the bottom of the application undulate, signaling that he was composing a reply. But then, a mischievous little thought popped into her head and she typed it out and hit send before he could finish his reply. 

_> It’s not every day I get saved by a superhero.<_

She paused for a moment, then added.

_> Or, receive such a beautiful bracelet as a present.<_

It seemed an eternity before the three little dots on the bottom of the application started moving again(it really only took a few moments). It wasn’t long before the screen flashed again. 

_> Well, I couldn’t leave you without a lucky charm, could I? :) <_

Her lips quirked at the smile she could very well imagine on his face at the playful remark. She quickly typed out her response.

_> Doesn’t mean you had to go through the trouble of making one, you know!<_

The three little dots began undulating almost immediately, then stopped and although she waited with baited breath for his reply, it didn’t come. Instead, the three dots began undulating again. She frowned, but didn’t have long to wonder before his response came. 

_> True. But I just couldn’t make myself give you yours back.<_

Marinette froze right where she sat. Tikki, watching her from across the room to give her privacy in her conversation thought she must’ve stopped breathing and was just about to move forward to make sure to remind her to do just that when the shock dropped from her face and the building emotion in its place made Tikki rush to her, and lift a small throw pillow up to her face in just enough time to muffle what would’ve been quite a loud squeal. 

Heedless of the Kwami’s efforts to keep her parents from descending on this after-hours interlude, Marinette dropped back on her bed and sighed.

“Marinette!” Tikki called, coming to rest at Marinette’s side. “Are you alive?”

Marinette was now grinning like a fool.

“If I’m not, I’m cool with it,” Marinette responded to Tikki. “I could _literally_ die happy right now.”

The vibration of the phone, still in her hand, brought Marinette immediately back to self-awareness and she popped back up into a sitting position with all the vigor and energy of youth. She brought the phone up to her face to read his new message. 

_> Sorry if that makes me selfish.<_

Marinette shook her head emphatically before remembering he couldn’t see her. Her fingers were a frenzy of movement over the letters on the phone in front of her. 

_> I want you to have it_

Marinette frowned realizing how desperate it made her sound, and hit the backspace key, erasing the message.

She frowned even harder in thought, typing out her next attempt.

_> I’m glad you like_

But she hit the backspace key and erased that message before she had even finished thinking it. 

She groaned in frustration and Tikki came up to her, landing on her shoulder and putting a comforting hand on her cheek. “Just speak from your heart, Marinette.”

Marinette smiled softly at Tikki and turned back to her phone, thinking for a moment before typing, slowly, this time. 

_> If it makes you happy, then I want you to have it.<_

She didn’t let herself edit it and hit send before she could doubt herself. 

His response came almost immediately. 

_> It makes me very happy.<_

She could feel herself blush and the warmth spread down from her cheeks through to the rest of her body. 

_> I’m glad.<_

She thought about it for a moment, then typed again.

_> Your gift makes me very happy, too.< _

There were a few moments when she stared at the screen, and nothing came - no little undulating dots either and she wondered what he was doing - wondered if he was staring at her words and wondering what she’d meant. Just when she started fearing that perhaps he was panicking at the emotion in her sentiment and trying to figure out how to fix it so she didn’t misinterpret him, his message came.

_> Happier than being carried half a city away to the Eiffel Tower by a black clad superhero? =^..^= <_

Marinette laughed and responded quickly. 

_> :-) lol  <_

His response was nearly immediate. 

_> I notice you didn’t answer my question. Hmmm…<_

She giggled and leaned back against her headboard. 

_> Well, being carried off to the Eiffle Tower is pretty tough to beat.<_

The undulating dots returned and she watched them with baited breath for a few moments until finally his response appeared. 

_> Is that a challenge?<_

Marinette found herself blushing and grinning and without warning, she couldn’t help but kick her feet out randomly in an effort to keep from squealing again. Dear God, she thought, was she really flirting with Adrien Agreste?

She sat up. _‘Oh my god. Is he flirting with me?’_

She must’ve taken too long to respond because he wrote again before she could. 

_> Alright…I’m definitely taking that as a challenge, Marinette. Fair warning.<_

Marinette giggled again and shook her head. 

_> LOL. Nothing beats a home made gift, Adrien.<_

He responded after a few moments. 

_> Nothing?<_

Then, almost immediately after.

_> Not even being whisked away to the most romantic spot in the whole of Paris?<_

She smiled and responded.

_> Not even.<_

Then, before he could respond, she started typing again. 

_> And I think the Square du Vert-Galant is way more romantic than the Eiffle Tower, anyway.<_

Her phone was still for long enough that she began to wonder if she should say something else. She was frantically trying to mentally compose a sentence that would negate the implication she was now reading into her own words, but he responded before she could type it up. 

_> Cancel helicopter ride to Eiffle Tower, check.  
Research logistics of having a picnic at the Square du Vert-Galant…check<_

Marinette’s jaw dropped. _Was he asking her out?_ But as tempted as she was to have another freak out, she figured he must just be joking and shook her head before she could overreact. Still…what to answer?

She looked at Tikki, but the Kwami was back at her privacy providing distance and pointedly not paying attention to her. She smiled a bit despite herself at that, before the problem before her reasserted itself. Deciding on maintaining the teasing tone of the conversation, she typed her response.

_> I like a good pesto & egg baguette sandwich for picnics_

She deleted it before hitting send, remembering Tikki’s earlier advise just in the nick of time. _Speak from the heart._ Okay.

_> As lovely as that sounds…I still think a handmade bracelet given for luck is better.<_

Marinette looked down at her phone screen, stifling a yawn, trying to ignore the time on the digital readout along the top edge of the screen that said it was way past her normal ‘past her bedtime’ hour.

_> If it makes you happy, I can live with that.<_

The echoing of her own words from earlier was not lost on her and her heart melted, if possible, even more for this boy. 

_> You make me happy_

Quickly, she backspaced over the sentiment that had bubbled out of her hardly without input from her brain. She wracked her brain trying to think of something adequate to write, but her tired, wired, over stimulated brain couldn’t come up with anything that wouldn’t embarrass her, be too sappy, too clingy, too… _something_. So, lacking anything more meaningful, she relied on old faithful. 

_> ^_^  < _

His response, when it came, was surprising, and yet not all at once. 

_> ^_^  <_

She was still wondering what to say next, when another yawn, this one strong enough to close her eyes and make her stretch, took her over. She felt his message come in while she was still mid-yawn. 

_> It’s late…you should get some sleep.<_

She smiled again at this additional sign of his thoughtfulness. 

_> You’re right.<_

She stopped suddenly and typed again.

 _> Hey Adrien…are_ you _ok? <_

She watched her cursor blink a few times before his response came. 

_> Me?<_

She nodded to herself and typed her response. 

_> You’re up late too.<_

His response didn’t take long at all. 

_> I got caught up watching some stuff <_

And, before she could say anything else, he wrote again. 

_> Goodnight, Marinette._  
Sweet dreams.  
And…happy birthday, again.<

Smiling a little bit stupidly, Marinette sighed. 

_> Goodnight, Adrien. Sleep well.  
And, thanks again.<_

She didn’t expect a response this time, instinctively understanding that was the end of the conversation. Still, she kept one eye on her phone even as she placed it on the nightstand next to her, wished Tikki a happy goodnight, snuggled under the covers and flicked off the light…just in case.


End file.
